unhinged

adjective

un·​hinged ˌən-ˈhinjd 

: highly disturbed, unstable, or distraught

attacked by an unhinged extremist

Somewhere along the way, her pursuit of a hot guy turned into unhinged obsession.

—Cosmopolitan

"Is this a new brand of humour? Or is your brain really unhinged?" inquired Tommy.

—Agatha Christie

see also unhinge

Synonyms

• psychotic [sometimes offensive]
• insane
• mad
• maniacal
• maniac
• crazy [usually offensive]
• mental [sometimes offensive]

Examples of unhinged in a Sentence

destined to become one of the nation's most notorious serial killers, he apparently became unhinged as a result of being abandoned as a young teen

Recent Examples on the Web

For example, the United States has been having an issue with the liberties outlined in the First Amendment, from cancel culture to the unhinged voices in politics and on social media. —Richard Lorenc, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 June 2025

Populated by unhinged men and masochistic women, and punctuated by fiery, increasingly histrionic set pieces, Smoke fails to reconcile its mood of noirish nihilism with its efforts at social commentary. —Judy Berman, Time, 27 June 2025

After defeating the bosses, the terrifyingly feral hunger seen in the Secret Level short overcomes Puck, who in true Pac-Man fashion devours the corpses with jaw unhinged. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2025

Doing something unhinged and powerful gave me confidence. —Roxana Diaconu, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unhinged

• cringed
• fringed
• hinged
• singed
• impinged
• infringed